Brilliant Idea

We're all feeling the sadness of summer coming to a close. Less than a week before school starts. We hadn't done water balloons yet this summer, and the kids decided today was the day, as it was in the mid 90's.  I had bought two Costco packs of the bunch-o-balloons (genius invention--self tying!), and they used them all in one big trampoline session and had a blast. 

Cousins Camp

One of the best weekends of the year! The kids had a great weekend with their cousins and grandparents, and Greg and I had a great stay-cation here. We ventured into Portland on Friday and had brunch at the Screen Door. It did not disappoint and was totally worth the 40 minute wait. Praline bacon, chicken and waffles, and bananas foster french toast. Yum! We drove to Washington Park and walked through the rose gardens and then down to Salt & Straw on 23rd. Neither of us had been there before, and it, too, did not disappoint. We drove home and took a glorious 2-hour nap then went to Riverview for happy hour out on the deck. It was such a good day! Saturday we took a morning walk, ran errands, took a trip to Costco, and had dinner and dessert at Sugar Pine Drive-in. Again--so yummy! We ate well that weekend. Cousins camp ended up being on our 19th anniversary, so we celebrated without kids for two nights.

Cousins camp for the kids started with a day at Mt Hood Adventure Camp. They did lots of swimming throughout the weekend and made great memories.

Bits of August Summer

August has been a month of driving kids to and from places (friends houses, cross country practice, tennis lessons, bible studies, youth group events, open gyms) and doing things at home in between--reading, playing games, listening to audio books, listening to Adventures in Odyssey, working on puzzles, lounging in hammocks, cleaning out cupboards, catching up on my blog (yes, I still keep that up for my books), and sorting through closets. Summer is the best.

Traci took the girls to the beach for the day

Aubrey was Facetiming with Abby while they were in England

One day that was not the best, though, was the day my phone died, and I spent the day in downtown Portland getting it fixed. Here's my FB post from that day:

I survived driving and parking in downtown Portland (I am NOT a Portland person)! I can't get those 5 hours of my life back, but Apple took care of me and gave me a new phone to replace my faulty one (still under warranty), and thankfully, I had my phone backed up. Phew! New phone, same number. Thank you to all who helped me out today, allowed me to bail on you, and were gracious with changes of plans (Tiffany, Shauna,Traci, Michelle, Vicki). Crazy how much I rely on this little piece of technology! And crazy how many moving parts we have, even on a "regular" summer day. :-) 
P.S. I didn't know cut-off, skinny jean shorts were a "thing" for men these days. They appear to be, for Portlandy men, anyway! 😄The people-watching was great today.

Watermelon Revelation

My parents let the kids taste their Hermiston, seeded watermelon, and the kids loved it so much, they insisted we go get some of our own. The ones with seeds DO taste better! They are fascinated by the seeds (“It looks like pictures of watermelon!”) and are having a great time spitting them down the hill. I ❤️ summer. Livin’ it up these last two weeks!

Bedroom upgrade

I saw this duvet cover at IKEA and decided it was very "Aubs" and had to bring it home. Aubrey was due for a bedding upgrade. One little bedding switch brought her room from grade schooler room to middle schooler room. She loves it! (And I love the quote she put on her letterboard.)

Before

After

Sugarpine Drive-in

Our family worked on memorizing Isaiah 43:1-3 this summer. As a reward for their hard work, we took the kids out to Sugarpine for dessert. So yummy! We walked down to the river after we finished eating. We walked along the water and threw rocks, and we taught Kari how to skip rocks. Apparently, she'd never learned. :-)

Grant's 9th Birthday

Grant had back-to-back pool parties for his birthday this year--family on Sunday (his actual birthday), friends on Monday. He loved being the center of attention and loved all the birthday wishes he received at church that morning. It was a 90 degree day--perfect for the pool but a little toasty for those that didn't get in. Monday was another hot, sunny day that worked out great for his friend party. He invited quite the age range of kids, from 13 down to 6 years old. Grant can be friends with just about anyone and age isn't much of a factor and neither is gender. Most of his favorite people were there--a mix of neighbor friends, cousin friends, school friends, and church friends. His siblings were there, too, of course. They wouldn't dare miss it. It was a great little group.